New Generation
by AK-tutti
Summary: The gang all find themselves back in Albuquerque. Some never left and some just came back, but this time it's about their kids. Follow them as friendships form and romances blossom. Through heartbreak, laughter and forbidden romances.
1. Introduction

**The Next Generation**

**Introduction**

A sudden bright light occurred in Gina Suaves' room, and the 16 year old girl groaned. Then she felt the covers being removed from her, and she groaned even louder. She definitely wasn't happy with the situation, as she knew what was next on the agenda.

"Gina! Up!" The teenager heard her mother's helium like voice say loudly, and once again she groaned. Gina lay still in her bed, so her mother repeated herself; "Gina, you heard me. Up, now!"

Leave me alone, Gina thought to herself. Normally the latina girl loved school, but the early mornings were a whole other thing. It made school seem… well, not worth it. Gina unwillingly opened her eyes and looked at her mother, and her features were far from fresh and happy.

"Mom, the birds aren't even chirping yet." Gina tried to reason with her lawyer mom, which made it difficult to argue a case. She tried anyways, though, seeing as it could never hurt. What if she for once won one? "If they aren't up, why should I be?"

Her mother folded her arms across her chest and lifted an eyebrow, and then she smirked at her daughter, whom she had to give credit for trying. "Well, maybe it has got something to do with the fact, they are down south this time of year. That would mean, you'd have to have a hell of a hearing to be able to hear them all the way down there." The expression on her daughter's face let her know, that she knew she had lost that one. "Now get up already!"

"But mom, it's totally pitch black outside." Gina once again tried to argue her case and lazily pointed out the window, where it indeed was very dark outside with the season being winter. "If the sun isn't up, that means the day hasn't begun yet! If the day hasn't begun yet, that means it's still night. And you know what that means? No school!"

"Nice try!" Her mother smirked at her again, and in her mind she had to give her daughter A for effort. Still no matter how hard she tried, she would never win! Gabriella Montez was a kick ass lawyer, who won several cases during the week. "But the seasons do not adjust themselves according to Gina Suaves' head. Winter means dark mornings, and mornings mean school. Up!"

Gina groaned for what seemed like the billionth time that day, and then she muttered a 'fine' and got out of bed. Gabriella smiled successfully at another case won and exited the room, as her daughter opened her dresser to find something to wear. Neither of them had ever been winter persons.

Black leggings, a thick and long knitted white sweater, that went as far down as a miniskirt in the length. Thrown together with a light blue belt and combined with her light blue Ugg boots, so it all didn't get too boring. Just because it was winter, didn't mean you couldn't wear some colors at least.

When Gina stepped into the kitchen for some quick breakfast, after she had done all the things she needed to do before school, Gabriella immediately complimented her daughter's outfit; "Aw, you look so pretty in that outfit."

Gina sat down at the kitchen table and watched her mother with grumpy eyes. "What did you have to say that for?" Gina demanded to know, feeling she was gonna win this one. Gabriella looked at her daughter confused, and it was Gina's turn to raise an eyebrow, before she finally spoke again. "C'mon! You just ruined my entire outfit with those words. It is a known fact in the world of teenagers, that if a parent compliments one of your things, it goes from cool to drool. Now I can never wear this again!"

Gabriella blinked at Gina who sat before her. Gina was almost like a spitten of her mother, except for the extra inch and the slightly rounder face, but even with that they were barely alike. They got along but were nothing like each other. It was strange like that sometimes.

"I'm sorry, but you know that whole image, you've got going on was very popular in my younger days." Gabriella tried to explain, as Gina poured cereal and milk into a bowl. She grabbed a spoon and began to eat it, like she had all the time in the world. Then she looked at Gabriella, who had only made things worse with her statement.

"Great, mom. Now I have to burn all of my clothes, thank you very much." Gina told her mom and threw the spoon into the bowl, clearly upset with her mother's statement. "Are you happy now? I've got nothing to wear anymore!"

For a girl who didn't like mornings that much, Gina sure had a lot of energy to argue, Gabriella reckoned. She shook her head at her daughter, as neither of them had time for all of that right now. They had a silent staring match, which Gabriella always won, and that caused Gina to let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Eat your breakfast now, G." Gabriella said in a way, that it was more a demand than anything else. She got up from the chair she had been seated on, and then she began to gather some of her things, that she needed for the day. She had a briefcase full of important papers and such, and when she had found all of her things, she looked at her daughter who still hadn't touched her breakfast. "Gina Esmeralda Suaves, we don't have time for your attitude problems this morning. I've got a busy day at work, and you've got school! So hurry up and finish your breakfast."

Gabriella didn't know what it was. Gina had always been such a well-behaved young girl, and she still was. It was just… hmm, how to put it? Now she was a teenager, and it was in her nature to disagree with her mom and argue. Gabriella didn't mind all that much, because she knew deep down, that her daughter had respect for her. She also knew that her daughter was still the same well-behaved girl outside their house, so that was a major plus for her as a mother.

"Fine!" Gina finally gave in and began eating her breakfast, but very slowly just to bother her mother. She wasn't like that normally, a teenager with attitude, she just loved it if she could get her mother's voice into high pitched helium. "As long as you give me a ride to school."

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. But I can't!" Gabriella explained and saw Gina roll her eyes at her. Why wasn't she surprised? Gabriella was so busy with work, she never had time for things like that. "It's just, I have to take off in 5 minutes, and you still have 15. You have to walk to school."

Gina stared at her without blinking. She wasn't surprised at all. She would bet 50 bucks with anybody, that she knew exactly what would be coming next. "I thought we had that conversation about the situation outside?" Gina tried to sound cheeky, but really it bothered her ever since her dad died, her mom had been married to her job. "Just at least come pick me up after?"

Her mother had to work late, so she couldn't pick her up. 50 bucks anyone?

Gabriella had been smiling, but it fell. "Sweetie, I have long hours today. I won't be home until late, so I can't." She explained with an apologetic tone in her voice, but it had no effect on Gina whatsoever. She was so used to it by now, she'd just hang out with Tyler after school then. No biggie. "I hope you can live with that?"

Gina shrugged as she thought to herself; I have to take care of dinner myself. Another 50?

"Oh, that reminds. You have to take care of dinner yourself, seeing as I won't be home at that time." Gabriella explained further, putting her bag over her shoulder as she held the car keys in her hand. She was ready to head out the door.

Gina sighed. "I can't cook, and you know that, mom." She hated to say it, but it was the truth. She was good at so many other things but that. She had the cooking skills of some retarded lice. "Why can't you just be home at dinner for once?"

Because! And then something with eating dinner with the King's.

"Because!" Her mom told her in a very 'because I said so' kind of way, and then she began heading towards the door. "Why don't you just eat dinner with Tyler's family tonight then?"

Gina groaned inwardly. She loved her mom so much, but this conversation was dragging, as it felt like they had it every day. "Because he can't fucking cook either!" She yelled and watched her mother cringe at the f-word, which brought a slight smile to her. Gabriella was about to open her mouth to say something, but Gina was quick to cut her off. "No, Taylor is on a 48 hour shift at the hospital, so he has to cook."

Gabriella offered her daughter an apologetic smile, which she wouldn't have. Nevertheless she smiled back anyways, because she wouldn't want her mother to go to work upset. Then Gabriella was out the door, and Gina sat alone by the breakfast table for what felt like the billionth time already that year, and it was only January.

If only her dad had been still alive. He would have sat across from her, looking at the house for sale section in the paper. He had been a realtor, so it was very important for him to keep up like that. Sometimes he had practiced on Gina, taking her to the houses and showing them to her first. Then she would grade his performance. Next to her mom he had been home all the time, and now with his death it was even worse.

Gina pushed herself away from the table and stood up, and then she went into the hallway to put on her jacket and get her schoolbag. She let the bowl sit on the table as a welcome home from work present for her mom. Her mother hated doing dishes, so that was why.

They had lived in Albuquerque for 5 years, and Gina had always felt perfectly at home, but now she felt as though something was missing in her existence. She didn't know why, because she had practically everything. She had a caring mother, when the work schedule allowed it. She had the best friend ever in Tyler. She went to a great school, where clique wasn't as an important thing, as it used to be. Her mom had earned so much money with her kick ass lawyer career, that Gina could afford almost anything she could ever want. She needed real smiles, she just didn't know how to get them yet.

Gina looked at herself in the mirror and tried to smile, and then she thought to herself that, that was as best as it gets. She pulled down the doorknob and headed outside. She closed and locked the door, and then she began the long pace to school. She hoped she would meet Tyler or someone on her way there, so she wouldn't have to walk alone. She hated walking alone. Even if she only had a 10 minute walk to the school.

**xXx**

Tyler was half-awake/half-asleep. He was tempted to be more than half-asleep, he was so tempted to just go back to sleep and forget school. Who would ever know anyways? His mother was on one of her incredibly long shifts. She had a lot of those, because she was the chief of medicine at the hospital of Albuquerque. The first black person, and also the first female.

He turned to his side and was about to slip into total slumber, when he something faint close by. It was Gina's and his own voice, singing their own version of an old song in an old musical. As far as he remembered it was titled 'Dance Me If You Can', and their version was titled 'Catch Me If You Can'. It just flowed way better, and it was also his ringing tone on his cell.

Shit, he thought to himself. Where had he put his cell, and who would be calling at this hour? He fell out of his bed and clumsily got up from the floor, and then he scanned his room for his cell. His best guess was that it came from the big pile of clothes on his floor, which his mom would surely nag him about once she got home.

He bent down and threw everything to the sides, and there underneath it all was his cell. He picked it up and flipped it open, automatically answering it.

"Hello?" He greeted the person calling with a half-insecure voice, for he hadn't checked the screen before answering. Maybe he should have done that, because the person calling wasn't happy with his way of answering the call.

"_Tyler, we've had a conversation about this! You should announce yourself, when answering your phone."_

Tyler sighed with annoyance. Why, oh why did his mother put good manners so high on her stupid list? "I know, mom!" Tyler said without gritted teeth, because his mom would so pick up on that. He tried his hardest not to sound annoyed or anything, when his mother was like that. It was hard, especially since she picked up on everything. "But usually it's my friends calling me, and they hopefully know who they're calling, so there's no need to announce myself. You catch my flow?"

"_Fine, I'll let you have this on, Ty." _Pause. _"Anyway, I just called to make sure you got up. I also wanna tell you a few important things, so I hope you'll bear with me."_

Taylor's tone was recognizable to Tyler. He had heard it many times before, and it usually meant more work on his mother's part, which meant more alone hours for him. It wasn't like he couldn't count on his father, as he was divorcing his mother, and Tyler had picked side in this whole chubang.

As much as his mother worked, and as much as he loved his father, last said person just wasn't a good man. Even if his mother was rarely home, he knew he could count on her in anything always. He was a mama's boy when it came down to it. He couldn't count on his father for anything, he would just flake. He didn't even know where his old man was anyways. So what did it matter?

"Well, I'm up as you can hear." He let his mother know, suppressing a yawn. With the yawn out of the way he could try and sound his somewhat cheerful self (when it hit him). "And I'll always bear with you, mom. What is it? You kicked some ass in surgery?"

He heard his mother giggle and smiled, and then she tried to be serious with him. _"Watch your language son, though I might have kicked some booty." _Another pause. _"No, but that's not it. There's a lot of paperwork here, and I've had to pick up another 24 hours, so I won't be home tomorrow either."_

"You're killing me, mom!" Tyler exclaimed, and his mother laughed obviously getting the joke. "So you're telling me, you expect me to cook tonight and tomorrow night, too? And I also 'cooked' last night." Tyler had a great relationship with his mother, and he loved that she was so successful with work. He only had one problem, and that was his cooking skills. "Even if I was a master chef and had no reason to complain, how are you gonna pull 72 hours off?"

"_Sleep whenever I can." _There was a sigh. _"By the way, Ty, don't forget to get a nice, solid breakfast. That's what grows bones."_

"Are you calling me boneless?" Tyler joked and earned another laugh from his mother. He liked that he could make her laugh, and he also liked that she'd made sure, he'd never be struck by insanity and become a doctor. No way would he survive those hours. "Of course I'll eat a 'solid breakfast'. Are you kidding me, mom? You know I love to eat! It's just the cooking I dislike. I'll even eat several solid breakfasts, if that'll make you happy."

"_As long as you eat, Ty."_ Even if she didn't say anything, Tyler could hear her smile. _"Oh, and Ty? I do not wish to come home and hear the neighbors complain about you banging those drums too loud. If you need to use them, it is in the garage, which is soundproof!"_

"Is it maybe my fault, that our neighbors of the 17th century do not understand good music?" Tyler complained, immediately taking his beloved drum kit in defense. He loved playing the drums, it was nearly his life, and he so wished to be in a band. "But fine, the garage. I hear ya, but you've hurt Sally's feelings."

"_And stop naming your things, Ty, you're 17 years old." _Tyler couldn't take his mom seriously, when she made demands over the phone, so he just chuckled lowly. _"And don't be laughing at your old mom, it's disrespectful!"_

"Sorry, mom." Tyler chuckled again. He just couldn't help it, but now he really needed to get ready. He had 10 minutes, so he had to be very fast about it. He also had to get his mom off the phone, so he could begin to get ready. "Didn't you say you had some papers? And I should really get to that breakfast we discussed."

"_I can take a hint, son. I'll see you soon, take care."_

"You too, mom. Bye!" And then he hung up the phone and threw it on his bed, and then he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, fix his hair and what else was to be done out there. "Now where did I put my glasses?"

He didn't need his glasses that much, it was more an accessory than anything else. He had shaggy black hair, and he just wore the glasses, because he reckoned they made him look like a 'hot nerd'. Nobody had disagreed so far, and he did have good genes. And he also felt he was pulling off the drummer look with his style.

A comb through his hair and he was just about done. He shook his hair for a good ten seconds, because he wanted his hair to be well combed but not tamed. He was kind of weird, when it came to that. He had managed to find his glasses lying in the bathtub for some reason, and he put them on. He smiled of approval, and then he went back into his room to throw some clothes on.

He just went with a plain white t-shirt and jeans, but at the last minute before he went into the kitchen to eat breakfast, he threw on a stripy knitted cardigan. He believed it was a cardigan anyways, he wasn't entirely sure. He just knew that his mom had once knitted it for him, when she had some time off from the hospital, and he loved it because she had made it. It was also perfect for his drummer look.

It was always a dilemma for Tyler to be in a kitchen. What to eat? WHAT TO EAT? Usually he ate a little bit of everything, but today he was in a hurry and didn't have time for that. He had to be quick about it and find something to eat, but it was just so damn hard. Everything under the category food was just so good.

He opened a cabinet and pulled out a big plastic box, and then he found some cereal and poured into it with milk. His mom wouldn't compliment any of those things. At least he found a spoon to eat it with, and he ate fast. Not that it was anything new. Eating fast was one of his many skills that he was very proud of.

His phone rang again, just as he'd shoved a spoonful cereal into his mouth. He stood up and reached into his back pocket, where he'd put it, and then he flipped it open. "What's up?" He greeted with his mouth full, hoping it wasn't his mother again with the way he answered the phone.

"_Hey Tyler, it's your father."_

"What do you want?" Tyler demanded to know, probably sounding rude (another thing his mother wouldn't applaud). Now he didn't even give a damn, how he'd answered the phone before. His father didn't deserve a proper greeting, being the person he was.

"_I just wanna hear how things are going? Is your mother home?"_

Just then Tyler wanted to throw his phone away and get a new one with a new number, so he wouldn't have to deal with his father and his lies. "Dad, stop lying. You don't give a crap about us, that's why you refused to go to Albuquerque with us." Tyler said using a very harsh tone in his voice, hoping to hit him where it hurt somehow. "And you don't care about whether or not mom is home either. You just wanna get the dirt to help your case, because you want custody over me. But you'll never get that, no matter how much dirt you manage to get on mom, because I choose to live with her."

"_Son…"_

What was to be followed by son Tyler never found out, as he hung up the phone just then. He just couldn't bear to listen to his father's voice any longer. He hated him so much, and that was harsh for a kid to say about his father, he knew. He didn't care, though, and if people knew… if they knew, what his father had done to them (mostly his mother), they wouldn't be surprised at all. They would actually think that hate was a kind thing.

Like that Tyler's appetite was ruined. He cleaned the box and put it in the dishwasher for cleaning, while he tried to forget all about his father calling. Usually it ruined the entire day, when his father called him, but he really hoped today wasn't one of those days.

He went into the hallway and shoved the phone into his back pocket again. He found his jacket hanging under three of his mother's, and then he put it on. He also found his bag and threw it over his shoulder, while he was still fuming over his father.

The phone vibrated in his pocket, and he picked it up. It was a text message from his best friend, Gina Suaves. Whatever she wanted, he wasn't in the mood at that point. Maybe that was mean and selfish, because at least he still had his sorry excuse for a dad, whereas Gina had lost one hell of a father. Okay, he could at least check what she wanted.

The message read;

_Hi Ty (which rhymes). I'm almost at our spot, will I be seeing you there? Xoxo G._

No, she wouldn't be seeing him there. He knew she wanted to walk together to school, but he simply wasn't in the mood. He was so mad, and he didn't wish to take it out on his best friend. He didn't even reply to her text message, because he wouldn't know how to do it in a nice way, when he was so angry at that moment.

Instead he closed his phone and shoved it back into his pocket, and then he opened the door and angrily left for school, while hoping he wouldn't bump into somebody he liked on the way.

**xXx**

Ryan Evans stepped into his son's room that morning and found… nothing? Royal wasn't sleeping in his bed, which was perfectly made. Ryan wasn't worried though, as his son had always been an early riser. Royal had probably just gone up to work the treadmill in the fitness room of the house.

That was the thing that worried Ryan the most, the fact it seemed Royal had no friends. It was like that treadmill was his son's best friend, so it was nothing that Royal was in very tip top shape and looked very good. Sometimes he pushed it a little too hard, but he was 17 and wouldn't listen to advice from his parents.

Ryan stepped out of his son's room and made his way down the hallway towards the fitness room, and when he opened the door to it, it was no surprise he found Royal working the treadmill. When he heard someone come into the room, Royal jumped off it and turned around to find his father.

Father smiled at his son trying to seem proud, and son stiffly accepted it while feeling bad. Royal was a weird kid. He was very full of himself, confident that he was one of God's many gifts, but at the same time he was insecure and fragile. He didn't have any friends, and he was good at acting like it didn't bother him. People also found him a nerd, because he needed to wear glasses, and he also tried to let that brush off.

He grabbed the towel, he'd brought with him in there and wiped off the sweat, and then he turned to look at his father again. "Is there something wrong?" Royal wanted to know and watched, as Ryan shrugged his shoulders, and he himself let the towel fall to the floor. "I'm sorry, but I prefer to be all by myself when I do my workout, and you kind of disturbed. No offence."

Ryan nodded his head. "None taken." He smiled at his son, and then he bent down and grabbed the towel from the floor. Mess annoyed him, it had always been like that. "But maybe you'd want to tone it down a bit, so you don't over work yourself." That proposal wasn't well received, as Royal shot him a very saying look. "Ok fine. Maybe not. Anyways, I just came in to tell you, that you should begin to get ready for school."

It was seemed odd to Royal, that his parents still felt the need to tell him, when he should be getting ready for school. He was 17 after all, and it wasn't that he didn't appreciate it, but if people knew… Damn, it would only make him seem more of a nerd. At that time he was thankful to have no friends, so that would never happen to him.

He smiled appreciatively at his father. "Thanks dad, I'll go take a shower now then. Tell mom I'll be down in a few minutes, when I've gotten dressed and everything?" Ryan nodded at his son's request, and then he noticed the towel in his father's hands and made another request. "And you maybe throw that in the hamper for me? That would be awesome."

"Odd thing to get excited about, but sure." Ryan agreed, and then he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. Royal breathed out a sigh of relief, for he found it so uncomfortable when other people saw him sweating, especially his father who would only lecture him.

Royal hurried out of them room and towards the bathroom, before his mother managed to catch him dripping with sweat. She was an even more worrying type than his father, and that surely wouldn't be pretty. Even if she was probably downstairs cooking breakfast, he still didn't wanna take any chances.

He quickly slipped into the shower and stepped out of it again only 5 minutes later, completely clean. He dried himself up and got dressed. He had never been very good with clothes, but he had always felt jeans and a t-shirt of any color to be a safe choice. Today his t-shirt was purple – which was a t-shirt his mother had bought for him.

When he was completely finished with everything he needed to do in the bathroom, he hurried downstairs to catch his parents, before they both took off for work. It was more important to catch his father than his mother, because she got home every day in the afternoon, and his father did not. He could sometimes be gone for several days and sometimes months.

His dad was a choreographer for many different big celebrities. He worked out their choreographies for their music videos, their tours and everything. It took a lot of work obviously, but when he was finally done he'd be home for a few days, before he'd be off helping another famous singer with his or her choreography. He even planned their stage shows from time to time. Royal was very proud of him, but he also missed him sometimes.

He was lucky enough, that his mother was staged in Albuquerque. She was a composer, and she did well. She was very acknowledged in Albuquerque, and bigger cities were now opening their eyes for her skills. She sometimes wrote songs too and with his father's connection, she sometimes had famous singers doing some of her songs. Royal just loved the fact that, she didn't have to leave the town every time she needed to work.

Royal stepped into the kitchen, where his mother had a plate with waffles ready for him. He sat down in front of his plate by the kitchen table and smiled thankfully at his mother, as she sat down on the stool next to him with her own plate of waffles. His father sat before him.

"Midgy Madison has seen some of my earlier work, and she is looking forward to working with me." Ryan said after finishing a bite of waffle, trying to start up a conversation about his work. Kelsi smiled proudly at him, and Royal shot him a very impressed look. "I've gotten a chance to listen to her new single of her forthcoming album, and I already have a bunch of ideas, but first I need to find out what she is like as a dancer. I can't settle any choreography, before I do that."

That was some impressive stuff. Midgy Madison was the biggest thing in music at the moment, and she was consistently doing great. All of her hits in the top 10 with most of them at number 1, and that went for both of her album at well – the number 1 spot. She was also consistent at releasing an album a year and four singles. So the one coming out soon would be her 9th single, and her 3rd album would be out later that year. What was more impressive on Midgy's behalf was, that she had only just turned 18 and was already doing so well. She was like the Britney Spears of their time without all of the scandals. So that his father was working with her, it made him like the coolest dad ever.

"That sounds cool, dad." Royal acknowledged, interrupting his mother as she was about to open her mouth and say something, which he hadn't even noticed. He took a bite of his waffles and chewed it before continuing; "Do you think maybe you could get me her autograph? That would be awesome. And maybe if you can get her to come to Albuquerque on her next tour?"

"Slow down, son." Kelsi told her son with a light chuckle, as she put an arm on his shoulder. "Your father is only doing her choreography, he is not her new bff." She let go of her sons shoulder, and then she turned to her husband finally being able to talk. "It sounds great, honey. If it goes well, you might have a new permanent partner. Midgy seems like a good girl, not like that Eugena Rice who seemed to be missing a pole or something."

Ryan chuckled. "What can I say, sweetie? My vision wasn't her vision." He explained his wife for the 1700th time, and she simply smirked at him. She always got him somehow. "Though I think Midgy will be easier to work with, but we'll see. Either way you'll know next week."

With that Royal watched his father get up from his seat and walk over to the sink with his plate, which he washed up and put in the dishwasher with a satisfied smile from his mother. Then he walked back over to table and bent down to kiss Kelsi on the cheek, and next he turned to give his son a shoulder clap.

"That's all folks." Ryan said trying to be funny, as it was his trademark for leaving to go to work somewhere in the world. Both Kelsi and Royal forced a chuckle, because Ryan had never been a funny guy. "I'll be home as soon as I can, I love you both."

Then he grabbed the suitcase by the door and left, leaving his wife and son behind with unfinished plates. Kelsi looked at her soon and smiled, because she had illusion she needed to every time Ryan left. It was a weird thing, because it wasn't like Royal minded all that much. He was proud of his dad. Sure, he wished Ryan was home more often, but there was really nothing to do about it.

"How do you feel, Royal?" Kelsi wanted to know, as she too finished her waffles and went over to the sink with empty plate. She continued to speak as she washed it up and put it in the dishwasher. "I mean about your father leaving for another week?"

Royal looked at her, as he finished his last bite as well. "He's got a cell phone." He simply stated, watching his mother walk back to table and grab his plate to do the same procedure with it. "If I wind up missing him, I know what number to dial, don't I?"

"You could be right about that." Kelsi agreed with a small smile, and then she glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was almost time for both and Royal to leave for their respective things. "Would you look at the time? It's almost time for you to leave for school. Are you all set?"

Royal nodded. He was completely ready. All really needed was his bag, and he'd just grab that on his way out the door. He would even go as far as to claim, that he was more ready than his mother. She had a bunch of things she needed with her, and he didn't have anything besides that bag he needed with him.

He stood up from his chair and went over to hug his mother. "I'll see you later. Bye." He said as he let go of his mother, and then he turned around and walked into the hallway to grab his bag. Once he had it over his shoulder, he turned around and faced his mother again. "When dad calls you some time to day, make sure to remind him to get Midgy's autograph for me."

Kelsi smiled at her son as if to say yes, and Royal sent an appreciative nod her way. With that out of the way he turned around to open the door and left, like a true teenager slamming the door behind himself.

**xXx**

Things were reversed in the Danforth household. Normally the child would be woken up by the parents and not the other way around, which was the case in their house. The way Stephanie woke up her parents wasn't pleasant either, but they were so used to it by now, that they hardly ever got mad anymore.

Stephanie was head-cheerleader on the Wildcats cheerleading squad, and almost every morning she woke up and blasted her stereo with her favorite music, trying to figure out new routines. She was creative like that! It just wasn't always her creativity was appreciated.

Today the song blasting through the speakers was 'Dance If You Want Me' by Midgy Madison. That song was ace! It was of her sophomore album, which Stephanie owned and loved. It was also Midgy's 6th single or something, and it was very danceable. Perfect to work out a new routine for.

Someone slammed on the door, and Stephanie was startled. She had been so wrapped up in the music that her mind had been elsewhere, so when she was ripped out of her own little universe, she was so shocked. They slammed on the door again, and she finally turned her music down.

"Who is it?" She called out to the person on the other side of the door, hoping it was one of the very good days, and her father wasn't raging like a buffalo on the other side of the door. That would not be a good way to start the day.

"Take a wild guess." The voice of her father said in an unhappy way, and she gulped quietly as if she wasn't there. She tiptoed to her stereo and turned off, while her father continued to speak. "Not that I have anything particularly against that wonderful noise you play in the early morning, but would you mind not turning up so… oh, I don't know? So freaking loud?"

Stephanie opened her door and came face to face with her father. "What are you talking about, dad? My stereo isn't even turned on." She played dumb while fluttering her eyes innocently at him, for she knew he would buy those eyes, because she had always been his little angel 'Stephie'. "You must have been hallucinating. It's probably the age thing."

Chad looked over his daughter's shoulder and saw, the stereo was in fact turned off, so he clearly must have hallucinated or something along those lines. So he couldn't be on her case because of that! He scanned her room with his eyes, searching for something else he could be on her case with.

His daughter's bed was perfectly made as always, and the room was almost awkwardly clean. There wasn't really anything he could get on her case for, not that he was a mean father or anything like that! It was just their relationship. They liked teasing each other and being on each other's casing for the fun of it.

Then he saw something! Something that he didn't find funny at all. His daughter's outfit of the day! No way was he letting her go out looking like that. First of all she was wearing black fish-net stockings, and who really wore that? She was also wearing a yellow loose 'mini-dress' with long puffy sleeves with a white buttoned west over it, and it didn't get better from there. She wore three different gold necklaces with different lengths; the one with her nickname 'Stephie', the one with small cross and lastly, the one with the rings in different sizes. She was wearing white ankle boots as well with two thick black stripes on both outer sides, and they had gold laces and were heels. Chad reckoned they would be killing her by the end of the day. To complete the outfit she was wearing a black hair-band with a bow on it in fake leather. She wasn't setting a foot outside looking like that.

"Stephie Danforth, what the hell are you wearing?" Chad demanded to know looking sternly at his daughter, so she knew he clearly wasn't happy with her appearance. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "You ain't walking out of here looking like that. Go change this instant."

"Oh my GOD! Dad, I'm 17 years old! This is called personal style, and would you rather I wore my cheerleading outfit? It shows way more skin." Stephanie shrieked at him, while she pointed at the gym bag on her bed, which contained that damn cheerleading outfit of hers. "Please, it's not like I'm a slut or anything. You trust me, right? Don't make me wear that devil thing!"

Chad stared at his daughter thoughtfully for a few minutes, considering the things his daughter had just said. "Hmm…" He muttered, dragging the whole thing out. Stephanie stood on her tippy-toes impatiently awaiting her father's sentence, for she would not wear that demon fabric to school, but if he said no to her current outfit she would have to. "Let's make this deal; I'll let you wear this today, and then for the rest of the week you'll wear jeans with your puffy loosy long shirts? Can we make that deal?"

Stephanie nodded and smiled, as she could probably make that work. She hugged her father and grabbed the gym bag on her bed, and then they left to go downstairs for breakfast together. Chad wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulder, and that arm of his wasn't even what weighed most on her shoulder.

It was that damn bag with that demon outfit in it. She loved being a cheerleader, that wasn't it. It was just that she hated those outfits so freaking much. They weren't her style at all, and as head cheerleader she had tried proposing new cheerleading outfits to the squad. She had proposed something looser and one piece, but she was shut down with that proposal, especially because the squad felt that it would resemble her 'puffy loosy long shirts' too much then, and it was also kind of tradition that the cheerleading outfits were in two pieces. Damn cheerleading squad, even if she loved them.

She hadn't loved it at first, though. When she started the team, it was only because she wanted to make her daddy proud, and it was the closest she could get to the basketball team. Then she found out she loved being a cheerleader, and it was all good. She cheered for the basketball team, which her father was second coach for.

Being second coach for the team didn't take up that much of Chad's time, so he had a job next to that one. He was mainly the head coach for the official baseball team of Albuquerque, which he happened when he became too old to still be playing in the NBA. He'd had a great run in the NBA and other than that, the only things that gave him any excitement were being a basketball coach and being a baseball coach. Balls were flying.

When they came into the kitchen Stephanie's mother greeted them good morning, and then she placed their breakfasts on the table. Stephanie nodded as a reply to her mother's good morning, and then she spotted her bowl with fruit bits and loops in it. Both her mother and father had always found their daughter's breakfast weird, but she just loved it so darn much.

Chad enjoyed a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon with a solid glass of orange juice, and his wife Charla drank some yucky green smoothie for breakfast. Charla was an athlete as well. She used to be a ballet dancer, but now she just taught it. She taught yoga as well. She also used to be an elite ice skater, but she had gotten too old for both of her passions. The people who managed the ice rink in Albuquerque had tried to convince Charla to become a coach there as well, but she had felt that maybe that would be too much work, though they weren't giving up on getting her. Long story short; that green smoothie thingy made her bendier somehow. Stephanie drank them sometimes too.

"I need to tell Debbie that she has to begin to eat beans and stuff, otherwise she'll never become flexible enough to be a ballet dancer, which is really a shame. She could be great." Charla told mostly Chad, but Stephanie was still ripped out of her thoughts and now listened to her mother. Now she turned towards Stephanie. "Which reminds me; you should drink your green smoothie, when you come home now that you didn't get it for breakfast. Is that okay with you, Stephie?"

"What a lame question! You're my mother, and you're telling me to drink it, so I will whether or not it's okay with me." Stephanie explained with maybe a little too much attitude, but that was just her; she had attitude. She felt something buzz inside the pocket in her west, and she picked out her cell and saw a text from her friend, Rebecca, on the squad. She read the text and exclaimed; "Oh no, she didn't!"

Stephanie sprung up from her chair having not even finished half her breakfast, and then she pressed a number on her cell and lifted it to her ear. She walked a little away from the table as the phone began to ring the other person. Chad and Charla glanced at each other, one of them shrugging at the other. This often happened, and there really wasn't anything to do.

"Maybe we should try to talk to her about this one last time?" Chad proposed to his wife, and she offered him a sad 'give it up' smile. Chad wouldn't give it up, though, as he wanted a well behaved young daughter. "C'mon! Charla, it's so rude, and rude is not how we raised our daughter."

"I know." Charla agreed but wasn't as worked up about it as her husband, because she knew their daughter a little bit better. That one little thing about Stephanie was one of the things that could not be changed, for Stephanie had her own mind about things. "But I also know about Stephie's personality and attitude. Her mind works a way that we can't change it, unless she wants it to be changed. When it comes to this issue, she doesn't care about rude."

"She better not have, Rebecca! Seriously, did she do it?" Stephanie exclaimed from another room, her voice getting more and more worked up by each word, and at that point she reminded so much of her father. She got worked up about the little things, especially if someone had wronged her friends. She got seriously pissed then, and she didn't play nice anymore. "And you saw it?"

Stephanie rushed into the kitchen again with the phone still pressed against her ear, and she went straight passed her parents, grabbing her gym bag on her way into the hallway. She began putting on her jacket, her bag on her back and gym bag on her shoulder all the while phone still pressed against ear. She was clearly upset and in a hurry.

"Fine, then tell Shelley that she is off the squad, and she better not be in my sight once I get to school! Otherwise I'll shove a basketball up her boney ass and make her cough it up." She yelled to her best friend Rebecca on the phone, and her parents eyes widened in the kitchen, even if they had heard worse things coming out of Stephanie's mouth. The thing was that she never kid about things like that. "And tell the slut, that if I ever see her with Eric myself, I'll rearrange her already ugly face." Stephanie paused as Rebecca spoke to her. "I don't freaking care, that he was your boyfriend! Whosever boyfriend it was, you don't do things like that to your friends. I'll see you soon, okay?"

She hung up the phone and shoved it back into her pocket, and then she opened the front door and ran out of there very fast. She slammed the door behind herself, but not before throwing a 'goodbye' over her shoulder at her parents' way, who still sat by the table with pretty wide eyes.

**xXx**

Troy walked down the halls of his house every now and then banging his fist against a door, which he did several times a week. Sometimes the doors replied something back, clearly not happy with the treatment they got. Sometimes he got a 'jerk', and sometimes he got a 'jackass'. What could he do about it? His sons whom the voices of the doors belonged to had both inherited his cranky attitude in the morning, but he sometimes wished they had inherited their mother's.

Today when he banged on the first door, he heard a 'freaking dictator' thrown his way, and that came from his youngest son, Timothy or Tim as they like to call him. He was 16. At second door he got an 'I'm not here' and a bunch of other mumbled words from his oldest son, Joel. He was 17. Troy let it all brush off him and simply chuckled.

He walked back to first door to Tim's room and pushed it open, and with that came several complaints from his youngest. He followed the same procedure by Joel's door, and that earned him a very tired but stern look. Again Troy chuckled, because he simply couldn't take them seriously when they had just woken up.

Joel rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, and then he slowly and not very gracefully got out of bed. He threw the covers back on the bed, and then he glared at his father with sleepy eyes. It was like he expected him to say 'It was a joke. It's Saturday, go back to sleep', but when his father said no such things he groaned loudly. School mornings were so annoying, every teenager in the whole wide world thought so.

Tim came dragging his feet into the room, looking even more beat than his older brother. He stared at his father without blinking, who seemed awfully chipper that morning – as usual. Where did he get that from? It wasn't like he was co-sun, and wasn't he supposed to get more tired with age? What was with the energy?

Troy smiled at his sons and held up a cardboard. "Hit the showers and get dressed, boys. We have a game plan to go over." He announced to them, like they didn't have any other choice. They didn't actually, because their father had this annoying habit of expecting them to work out new game plans with him every morning. They got sick of it real soon, but their father just didn't get it.

Tim glared at his older brother without any expression in his eyes what so ever, and then he spoke with a monotone voice; "I'm crashing at mom's for the next many, many weeks!" Then he turned around to go into his own room to do the things his father wanted.

"I think I might be doing that as well." Joel told his father, who stood there in the doorway completely clueless. They got easily fed up with their father, but just as easily they got on his good side again. It was all basketball and chipper mornings with him, and sometimes it became too much to handle. "Unless you got another new mommy for us this week?"

That was harsh, and they both new it. Troy turned around and left the room in silence, and Joel beat himself up with a heavy sigh. He didn't mean to hurt his father, but sometimes things like that just slipped out. It was morning, and Joel was annoyed with him which made it all unintentionally. It was something both he and Tim knew they could hold against their father, though, because he had been married three times in the past. His first wife had been their mother, Amanda Healy, but they only lasted 5 years of marriage.

After their mom the marriages became shorter and shorter. His second wife had been a manipulative bitch of the name Tiara Gold, who had schemed her way into their father's life. Their marriage had lasted a year and a half. His third marriage lasted only 9 months, and it had been to a woman named Rachel Sanders. Rachel had been a real cool lady, who just didn't tolerate infidelity, and so they divorced. Out of his ex-wives Troy only remained friends with his sons' mother, Amanda.

Well, best take a shower, Joel thought to himself. He found a t-shirt in blue colors and a pair of brownish jeans in his dresser, and then he hit the shower. He should at least please his father like that, after he had spoken to him like that earlier. Maybe if he showered and got down into the kitchen fast, he'd earn some plus points with his father.

Down in the kitchen Troy sat and thought about what his oldest son had said, and it only made him more and more upset each time he thought it over. He'd had it coming, but it still hurt! Because what kind of man had unsteady relationships like that, when he was a father? It could never be good on the kids, and he should have known that. He should have never put them through three failed marriages, when he shouldn't even have put them through one.

Amanda, his first wife, was still a big part of his life due to their kids, and he would always love her because of them. They could have had their happily ever after, they could have been meant to be, it was just… the kids. That they had two kids under the age of 5 so close to each other took a toll on their relationship, and they couldn't repair it. It had been best to get a divorce than to end up resenting each other.

Tiara was a manipulative bitch, whom he should have never married, but there really wasn't much to do about that today. At least he knew better now, so he would never marry someone like her ever again. The thing he had with Rachel could have lasted, hadn't he been young and foolish. They were so perfect for each other, but because of a moment of insanity they never got forever. Too damn bad.

Still even if all of these relationships hadn't lasted, Joel had had no right to talk to him like that, no matter how he felt about it. It was disrespectful somehow. They would have to have a discussion about that later, but right now wasn't the time. They needed to work out a new game plan for the team, and he couldn't get both of his sons' inputs, if he and Joel were arguing.

Tim stepped into the kitchen, and Troy looked up from his game plans. "Wow that was fast." He acknowledged with a smile, and Tim simply nodded and took a seat before his father, grabbing a cereal bow and pouring the content into a bowl with milk. "Are you ready to work out a kick ass game plan with your old man today?"

"Dad, just because you're head coach and I'm co-captain of East High's basketball team, it does not mean we have to put our heads together every time you need a new game plan." Tim explained to his father as he munched down some cereal, and then he poured some more into the bowl. Tim was a fast eater, so the bowl emptied pretty quickly. "I am only 16, my brain doesn't function that way, and I really shouldn't be bothered with it. You're 42 and a former basketball player, you know what the hell you're doing. You work out the games, I play them!"

It could be really annoying at times, that his father also thought it should be basketball with him and Joel 24/7. They had other things to them! Tim a mean shuffler and beat-boxer, and he was also a decent cook – or he was as long as it was cookies, and they could be shaped like various balls; basketballs, footballs, baseballs, etc. Joel was good at seeing people, and then he was kind of like a protector of the innocents. He was already a great man, even if he was only 17, and it was good that someone with his kind of power was like that at school. Of course, they had their flaws too. Tim often got cocky and felt that he was the biggest thing to have ever happened in basketball and at East High for that matter, so people could say all they wanted about him, and unless it was good it would be wrong. He was just that 'good' at basketball. Plus he also had a habit of beat-boxing at all the wrong times. Joel often misread situations by only seeing what he saw, even if he was good at seeing people. It often got him on the wrong side of people for no good reason.

They loved basketball, sure, and they also loved the fact their father was head coach, but he couldn't expect them to work out these game plans with him. They didn't have the brains for that, they just played the game. Joel sometimes made a few good points, but that was that.

Troy looked down at his papers and then at his son, who had made a pretty good point. "I see that, but wouldn't you like to know what's going on other than just playing the games?" Troy questioned his son and looked at him with curious eyes, as Tim poured cereal into his bowl yet again without changing expression. Troy couldn't read anything off his face. "I mean, wouldn't it be so cool to tell your friends you helped work something similar to fake right-break left out?"

"Not really!" Tim shrugged and looked angrily at the spoon in his hand, and then he lost it. Why eat with a spoon, when just drinking the cereal from the bowl was so much faster? That's what he did, and Troy didn't bother lecturing him about it, for at his age he would have done something exactly like that.

"Me neither." Joel revealed as he stepped into the kitchen, totally fresh clean in every sense of the word. He sat down on a chair next to his younger brother and grabbed a spoon and bowl, pouring cereal and milk into it. "Seriously, that whole fake right-break left thing is so old school, it would be more effective to fake left and break right these days, yet nobody thinks about that. Weird, isn't it?"

Troy looked down at his papers again and then at his oldest son in awe. "That's actually a good idea, Joel!" He exclaimed and wrote the idea down, totally forgetting about their encounter earlier. "I'm sorry if I sound surprised, but it is really good. I'll run it by Chad later."

Tim was now at his fourth bowl of cereal, whereas Joel was only at his first. Even if Tim loved to eat and ate much and fast, he still got easily bored. He looked at the cereal box and decided to have some fun, so he grabbed it and turned to his father. "Hey dad, remember when you used to be on one of these?"

"Very mature, Timmy-Tim." Joel was the one teasing back, as their father was now too busy scribbling a bunch of things down on his cardboard. He finally looked at his brother for real after he'd gotten down into the kitchen, and then he saw the stripy green shirt Tim was wearing with jeans. "By the way, Tim, I don't know if you know this but… hmm, that's my shirt."

Tim looked at his older brother like he couldn't be bothered, and then he said in the same tone as he looked; "What? You don't hear me complaining about you wearing my jeans, do ya?" End of that discussion.

Joel stared at his younger brother just the same, but then he cracked a smile. Even if they teased each other sometimes and were on each other's cases, they were still the tightest of brothers. Best friends really, and they had each other's back always. They also talked about everything, mostly when their father became way too much about basketball, like he so often did.

"That was so bitching." They said in unison, and then they laughed. Their father acknowledged nothing, which was kind of weird. He always detected laughter, but clearly not now. They laughed even harder at their father's serious face plastered to his cardboard. They both mumbled; "Sure that'll be his next wife."

After Tim had finished his 5th bowl over all, and Joel had finished his one, they both glanced at the clock above the kitchen door. It was time to go. They got up from their seats and into the hallway, where they both put on their respective jackets and bags. They were all set to go, they only needed one thing; their father, who was also the gym teacher at East High.

Joel peaked into the kitchen. Father and cardboard were still in close contact. Joel decided to break it by speaking very loudly, yelling in fact; "Dad, are you coming or what?"

**xXx**

Davida and Analeigh Swansea had just moved to the town. No wait, that's a lie! They were moving to the town that very day – a pitch black and cold morning in January. It wasn't that they minded the move, for they were raised to be survivors, it was just the way the move went down.

It was like that for Analeigh anyways, but Davida was about as big a mess as their mother. She was so hard to figure out, where Analeigh found herself being much simpler. In many aspects Davida was the same as her mother, the former Broadway star Sharpay Evans. Spoiled, manipulative, arrogant but she still showed she cared for her sister, though you had to really look for that if you wanted to find it.

Analeigh looked out of the window in the car, trying to see if anything reminded her of New York. In the other back side of the car her older sister by six minutes did just the same, but it could present a problem due to the darkness outside. It could also be because they were both trying to keep their eyes busy to stay awake, for they came straight from New York. They didn't even know where they were going to live yet, what their house looked like.

Sharpay had driven them, while pretty much complaining all the way about the missing chauffeur. What had she expected? That she'd get somebody to drive them to Albuquerque after she'd been fired from a Broadway show, because she had been pulling the crazy diva bitch attitude? They lived in the real world, and if she was entitled to anything it would be because of their father's status.

They were moving back to Albuquerque because of him. He was a business man with a capital business, and he owned various different companies, and one of those many companies had just opened a new office in Albuquerque. So that's what they were doing moving there; their father wanted to run the office in Albuquerque himself.

"You can't see anything, it's too dark outside." Analeigh muttered quietly to herself, and she was tempted to remove her sunglasses, which were in a very dark shade so nobody would be able to see her eyes. She looked sideways to the front at her mother, and then she opted not to do it.

Davida removed her gaze from the window, having heard her twin sister's complaint. She knew it was meant for nobody's ears, but she couldn't help herself creating a little bit of drama. "Maybe if you removed those sunglasses, you'd be able to see some things." Analeigh shot her sister a killer look, and Davida simply smirked. Their mother had heard her, so the mission was accomplished.

"Why don't you ever remove those damn sunglasses, Analeigh?" Sharpay demanded to know, though she already knew way her youngest daughter wore them all the time. She just didn't care, whenever a chance of bringing Analeigh a little down presented itself, Sharpay being a 'super duper' mother grabbed it. "It's really not attractive wearing them inside."

Analeigh wanted to grit her teeth at her mother, talk rudely back to her and everything, but what good would it do her? She had been voted least favorite, and whatever she could say or do would only worsen it. Davida had always been a favorite of their mother's, and she milked it whenever she got the chance. It was all because Analeigh was 'different', and Sharpay did not like different, so she had picked Davida as a favorite.

The younger twin thought 'what the hell' and decided to speak exactly her mind. What could be the harm? "Oh, I don't know, mother? Maybe it's because if I took them off, you'd have a whole other problem with my appearance." Analeigh said without even bothering to use a civil tone, for after everything that was the furthest thing their mother deserved. "Isn't that right?"

Sharpay chose not to answer that and acted like it wasn't true at all, even if it was. She kept her eyes focused on the road, so she'd make the right turns. She was dropping her kids off at East High, before she went home and began decorating their new home, while her husband was at work and their kids in school.

"Where are we going, mom?" Davida asked the most polite she had ever been, because she knew their mother was mad at Analeigh, and she wanted to use that to earn a few extra points. She loved the fact that whatever Analeigh did, she'd always mess up in their mother's mind, and whatever Davida did she always did great.

"I'll tell you, sweetie. I'm dropping you girls off at your new school." Sharpay explained to her favorite daughter, while her least favorite had returned to looking out the window but was still listening. She smiled at talking to the daughter she loved, it was better than that other thing. "We're nearly there, and I think you'll love it. I went there."

Sharpay's words finally caught up with Analeigh, and she turned around and looked at their mom with wide eyes. "Wait, you're dropping us off at our new school our first morning in this strange new town?" She questioned to see if she'd gotten everything right, and her mother nodded so she had. "Mind telling us how we're supposed to get home? We won't know the way."

Sharpay ignored her youngest daughter and talked to the favorite again. "Davida, you wanna get into the drama club right away. It only took me two months to become leader after I'd done it, and I expect you to do the same." She told her daughter in a similar tone to the one, which is used when to explain who you should stay away from out of the teachers. Sharpay really did expect a lot from Davida and nothing from Analeigh.

Davida nodded even if drama wasn't her cup of tea, though she was a big drama queen. Then she looked at her sister, who was looking out of the window again. Davida smirked and decided she'd prove her position as a favorite to Analeigh once again. Every chance she got she'd do that, as reminder to her sister that their mom didn't love her.

"Mom, how are we supposed to get home from school? We won't know the way." As soon as the question had left Davida's mouth, Analeigh turned and looked at her with a 'what the hell are you doing' expression upon her face, even if Davida couldn't see it. She just knew her sister's expressions by the mouth.

"Oh, I have an address for you in my purse, if you could please grab it?" Sharpay suddenly remembered, as she turned right around a corner. Davida reached for the address in her mother's purse, Analeigh mouthed 'you're unbelievable' to her sister. Like always Sharpay never grasped onto anything like that. "We're nearly there."

Analeigh leaned closer to Davida, and they looked at the address; 333 Cerulean Alley. Analeigh rolled her eyes upon reading it. Of course the name of the street with their new house would contain some sort of color, the only surprise she really had was that it wasn't called 'Hot Pink Street'. Davida and Analeigh shared a look, and by the looks of Analeigh's mouth Davida could tell, they were thinking the exact same thing.

"Um, mother? The question still stands; how are we supposed to get home?" Analeigh tried once again to get in contact with her mother, asking her the obvious question yet again that she was sure, that she'd soon find her twin sister repeating. "I mean sure we have the address, but we're still new here so how are we to find it? We won't recognize any of the streets."

This time Sharpay didn't ignore her youngest daughter, but this time she scolded at her. "Analeigh, I can't say I mind your attitude very much." Analeigh's mouth formed a shocked 'O', she just couldn't believe how her mother managed to turn her question around like that. "You shouldn't talk to me like that!"

Analeigh thought whatever and returned to the window. It was always like that, so why should she even make an attempt to get some good points with her mom? No matter the situation Analeigh would always be the freak in the bunch. She had learned to live with the fact that Davida was mommy's girl, and she was a total daddy's girl, though their father never played favorites.

"Mom, we're new here, so how are we supposed to find our way home?" Davida rephrased Analeigh's earlier question, and now all of the sudden it was a totally different situation. All of the sudden their mom would care to help them, and Analeigh tried not to care. She at least got the answers. "We won't know any of the streets, we're totally alienated."

"Well, I expect my Davida to be very popular, so you can ask one of your many new friends for directions." Sharpay explained to her favorite daughter, because it would probably have been way too easy to draw them are map or something or maybe even pick them up. That would be the mom thing to do, but Sharpay did not get that. She was still all about herself.

Analeigh removed her sunglasses for a few seconds to dry some tears away, and Davida noticed that her sister was sad. They had a weird and somewhat twisted relationship, where Davida would be mean and mess with Analeigh and her life, but that was in some odd way sister stuff. If somebody else made Analeigh sad, whoever it may be, Davida would be there in a flinch with whatever remedies she could gather.

"You okay?" Davida whispered, reaching out her hand to stroke her sister's arm. Analeigh shrugged and removed her sunglasses once again to dry a few tears away, and Davida unwillingly flinched at the sight. Analeigh noticed and new tears formed in her eyes, and she looked abandoned somehow. "I'm so sorry, Leigh. I didn't mean to, it was just a reflex."

Davida used the hand she had been stroking Analeigh's arm with to brush away her sister's tears, and then she offered her a smile as if to say 'you're still beautiful', because they did still look a lot like each other. Davida was six minutes older than Analeigh, and she was also an inch taller. Analeigh's hair was a shade lighter than Davida's; Analeigh's hair was kind of golden/honey blonde, and Davida's was dark blonde, which could often be mistaken with light brown. They both had hazel eyes, whereas Davida's were a little browner, and Analeigh's were more green – and something else.

Sharpay noticed Analeigh had removed her sunglasses, and she wasn't happy. "Put those damn sunglasses back on and hide those hideous things away." She snapped with a very angry tone, and a frightened Analeigh quickly put her sunglasses back on. Then Sharpay addressed her favorite daughter again and all of the sudden sounded a lot happier than before. "Look out the window, honey. We're here."

The car pulled into the side of the road and stopped. Sharpay turned around and smiled at daughters. "Have a nice day. Hurry before you're late." She told them, and they were both sure she talked more to Davida than Analeigh. Then she turned and spoke directly to Analeigh. "Don't forget your damn noise maker in the trunk, I won't have that hideous thing in there longer than I have to."

They both got out of the car, and Davida fixed her outfit while Analeigh got her acoustic guitar out of the trunk. Davida was cautious about how she looked always, so she wouldn't want wrinkles on her outfit. She was wearing black tights, a denim mini skirt, a black top with a pink print and a jacket over it, and she was also wearing pink boots.

Analeigh was different; she never cared as much as her sister. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans and loose dark purple shirt with wide sleeves. The sleeves were kind of tied together with tiny little ribbons, otherwise it would just have been two pieces of fabric hanging down each arm.

Sharpay drove off without as much as a goodbye, and they both stood there in disbelief for only a few seconds – they did know her. Analeigh already had on her school bag, and then she took her acoustic guitar which was in its case and placed the strap over her shoulder, and she turned to Davida who was also wearing hers. They were ready to head inside to their new school.

Analeigh looked at her sister with a serious face, and then she said just as seriously; "That's one of a hell good mother you have there, she even managed to offend Elvis Aron Presley." It was Davida's turn to shoot Analeigh an annoyed look, but she just took it as a cue. "C'mon, he's the King of Acoustic Guitars. He's a legend."

Davida shook her head at her sister, and then they went inside for their first day of school. That should be interesting?

**xXx**

_**Disclaimer;**_ _I don't own High School Musical or any of the familiar characters, but I do sorta own the kids._

_So I got my inspiration for this from a dear friends of mine. You all remember __**Stessa**__, right? A while back she wrote a Friends fic about the adventures of the friends' kids. I thought I'd give it a go with the kids of gang from High School Musical. I hope it has somehow caught your attention and you'd want to read more. Next chapter is already finished, but I'll with a little before I post it. Hope that you'll leave me your feedback as well. Thanks :)._

_**Laters,**_

_AK-tutti_


	2. Chapter 1

**The Next Generation**

**Chapter 1**

Davida pushed the door open to the halls of East High, and then she entered with her sister. Their mother had just dropped them off in the weirdest way ever, making their first day at this school as difficult as it could possibly be. It was whatever though, because Davida knew how to go in there and seem unaffected – she was like her mother in that way.

Not too far from the double doors they opened to enter the school, they saw their cousin Royal Evans standing. He seemed upset, and Analeigh was the only one who wondered why. She picked up her pace so they'd quickly be by his side, and Davida sped up as well – not that she cared.

When they got much closer, the problem appeared to Analeigh; some students were teasing their cousin. That just wasn't right. She sped up further and was soon by Royal's side, so she could get a clear view of what was going on. There was some snickering and stuff happening, and it appeared that they were bashing him in some way. Which way she did not know!

She put an arm around his shoulder and looked up into his eyes, for he was a lot taller than she was. "You okay?" She wanted to know, and he simply shrugged not saying a word. Analeigh turned to the guys teasing Royal, and by then Davida had caught up with her sister. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get outta here!"

The guys looked at Analeigh with expressionless faces for awhile, but then they turned around and finally left mumbling some words. They couldn't hear them completely, though it sounded a lot like 'gay', 'sunglasses' and 'cool'. It could have been something like 'he is so gay' and 'she thinks she's so cool, because she wears sunglasses inside' – at least that's what they were used to.

"What was that all about?" Davida wondered out loud, as she watched the strangers leave. She turned and looked Royal in the eyes like Analeigh had done before, so he knew he was the one being talked to. They both looked at him expectantly.

"Nothing." Royal said as he tried to shrug the whole thing off, but it didn't work on his cousins. He saw that Davida looked at him in an 'I don't believe you' sort of way, and behind the sunglasses Analeigh probably did the same. He gave in and fessed up. "Fine, I'll tell you. They kept following me around and throwing comments my way about being gay."

Analeigh crossed her arms and pouted her lips as far as they could tell – the eyes department was still a blur. "Haven't they heard the expression 'you shouldn't throw rocks, if you live in a glasshouse yourself'? Either way they're clearly not using what their parents gave them."

"Do I really seem that gay?" Royal questioned them as he looked at them with sad eyes, and it was clear to them both it was tearing him up. He knew himself that he could be quite feminine sometimes, but he had never thought of it as being so much that people would consider him gay. That hurt! "Be honest with me?"

His eyes bore into them, and Analeigh knew she couldn't lie – not even if she wanted to. She had to say something, though. Anything! "Roy, I'm not gonna lie to you." She said and left it there. She turned around and hurried off with an; "I'm coming!" as if someone called on her.

It probably wasn't the best decision to run off like that and leave him there with Davida, but she couldn't have stayed or she would have had to tell him her honest opinion, and she just couldn't do that to him. It would only hurt him, so hopefully Davida would for once in her life be sensitive about something.

Davida turned around and faced Royal, ready to give him her honest opinion. "I ain't gonna lie to you either." She stated as the first thing, so that he was prepared for what was to come next. If Davida said a sentence like that, it could never be good! "I'm gonna be blunt. You are as gay as the day is long and the summer is hot. The only thing you need to seem any gayer is an actual boyfriend. I'm not trying to be rude here, but c'mon!" She waved her vertical hand up and down in front of him, as if that would help him get the image. "You are very fashion forward, and you dance all kinds of dances. I mean, if that's not gay then what is?"

A girl with mahogany red hair walked past them, but stopped in her tracks when she heard the word dance. She spun around on her heel and walked back to them, because she needed some dance related help. She stopped in front of them and smiled as that was known to make people more helpful, and like mentioned she needed some help!

"Hi! I couldn't help but overhear… do you dance?" The girl questioned with all of her attention on Royal, which left Davida offended as she liked to be the center of attention. The girl looked at Royal with hopeful eyes, and then she introduced herself properly. "I'm Stephanie by the way! Stephanie Danforth, but you may call me Stephie. So do you? Dance, that is?"

"Oh yeah, I do a little bit of everything. I'm Royal." He said with a smile, as this was the first time that someone had actually talked to him without calling him gay. It was the first time someone had been nice to him. It was weird to him, but he liked this Stephanie because of it. "My father is Ryan Evans, so I should know a thing or two, don't you think?"

"Shut up!" Stephanie exclaimed and gently slapped Royal on the side of his arm, and she still appeared to be ignoring Davida, who was still standing there. Stephanie became more and more interested in Royal as the conversation proceeded. "Your dad is Ryan Evans? Ryan Evans, the choreographer? The guy who is choreographing Midgy Madison's newest music video?" Royal did nothing but nod, and Stephanie got even more excited. "Oh my God, then you must be able to help me."

Davida was sick of being looked over, so she joined in on the conversation. "What do you need help with?" She asked and probably sounded rude, but when had she ever cared about that? This Stephanie girl couldn't just overlook her like that. "Not to bash my cousin, but he is kind of clumsy."

Stephanie smiled at Davida for joining in, but she didn't let her have the conversation be all about her, nor did she appear to be affected by Davida's statement in anyway whatsoever. "You don't even know what I want, and didn't you just a few minutes ago mention that he could dance?" Royal really liked this Stephanie for she had been able to shut Davida up like that, and never in his life had experienced that before – nobody had ever been able to. There was just something about Stephanie. She focused her attention on Royal again. "So the thing is, I'm head cheerleader, but I'm also kind of stuck. I need a fresh, new choreography."

"So you want my help?" Royal asked and watched as Stephanie nodded her gorgeous little head, and she didn't even seem eager even though she desperately needed help. "I can't just step up and do it like that. It's not that I wouldn't love to help you, but to work out a routine for you I need to know what your team is capable of doing, and for that I have to…"

"You can stop by free period today and watch us practice, and then you can get that sense. You're totally free to bring little miss all about me, if that will make you more comfortable." Stephanie was quick to offer, for like she mentioned earlier; she was desperate. Royal let out an unwilling laugh, and Davida shot him a death glare – they both knew Stephanie had referred to her. Royal nodded to let Stephanie know it was okay with him, and then she smiled and glanced at her watch. "Shit! I have to go! Not that I don't wanna talk to you, but my best friend has just broken up with her boyfriend, because he was a cheating son of a bitch, and she really needs me at this point. It was nice to meet you Royal and you too new girl."

She spun around on her heel again and left Royal and Davida to themselves. Davida sent Royal another death glare and shook her head in an 'I don't believe it' way, and then she too spun around and left, leaving Royal all to himself. He didn't care for he was just so happy, and he also knew that no matter how mad Davida seemed, there was a 75% chance she'd be joining him in free period.

Royal began humming and started walking off towards class – no gay bashing could bring him down anymore that day!

**xXx**

Gina caught up with her best friend Tyler by the doors of East High, and she was quick to grab a hold of him. Her eyes bore in to him, examining him for the reason why he did not reply to her text earlier that morning. She had been really disappointed in that, but she also knew what he was going through and did not want to pressure him.

Tyler simply shot her a sad smile as if to say he was alright, though they both knew he wasn't. His father had called earlier that morning, and usually that would ruin his entire day – unless something really special happened. On top of his father having called and crashed his still early day, his mother had also called him and let him know that her 48 hour shift was now a 72 hour shift. It was just great.

The two best friends were both used to being alone a lot because of their parents' job, and they were pretty much used to it. The biggest problem was that neither of them knew how to cook, so they rarely ate something that tasted somewhat good at nights. Their parents knew that, so they could at least leave some of those finished frozen meals that were meant for the microwave. That would be good.

"I don't believe you!" Gina replied that smile Tyler had shot her, as they stepped inside the hallways of their school and began making their way down it. She linked her arm with him as a gesture to sort of let him know, she was there if he needed her, even if she had hers to battle with. "You're not fine. Something's happened. Either your 'wonderful' father has called or you're bummed about tonight. You know with the cooking."

She winked at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle. She did that to him. "You're right. My father called this morning." Tyler admitted to his best friend and felt her squeeze the arm she had her hand in, and then she offered him an 'I'm on your side' smile. "I hate him so much, and I know that's terrible to say, G. I just know he's fishing me for details. He wants prove that my mom is an unfit mother, but there's no such prove. Sure she works a lot, but she's the best mother ever."

Gina stopped in her tracks in front of a few lockers and due to her hand in Tyler's arm she stopped him in his as well. He stood in front of her and looked at her weird, letting her know he wanted in on what was going on. She smiled weakly at him that way he knew, it was nothing too bumming serious.

"It's weird like that, isn't it?" She wondered out loud, and Tyler shot her a confused look. She leaned up against the locker she stood in front of, and then she elaborated; "It's just, our mothers are rarely ever there, but still we think they're the best mothers ever. I just think that's weird. I mean, we should hate them, shouldn't we?"

Tyler chuckled again for his friend was kind of right, and then he leaned up against the locker next to her. "Maybe we would under different circumstances, but they are there and when they are, they are the most amazing moms ever. So how can we possibly ever hate them?" He questioned Gina, watching her shrug. She didn't have the answer to that for they couldn't, because Tyler was right about what he said. He looked at her intensely for awhile, and then he changed the subject back to where it was before. "Seriously though, G, I think my father wants custody over me, and that's why he's calling me that much to get dirt on mom."

Gina sighed. "You've told me this before, Ty, and it is never gonna happen." She reassured him, even if she had no clue about it whatsoever. She was just being the best friend she could be and with that being honest – she honestly didn't believe Mr. King could ever take Tyler away. "What case does your father have? He's beaten your mother several times, so do you honestly think they'd ever let him take you away? That would be a no!"

He had already opened his mouth to reply to Gina's statement, when they saw a girl with honey blonde hair and shades standing in front of them, and he shot her a questionable look. They couldn't see her eyes, but she seemed like she was searching for something – either that or she was lost.

"Excuse me, but would you mind moving?" She asked them as she placed a black case shaped like a guitar down on the floor, and then she looked expectantly at them – which they could not see. They hadn't moved, and she kind of found that rude. "Well?"

Gina seemed in trance for a few minutes, but then she blinked out of it. "Oh sure, I'm sorry." She said as she stepped to the side and pulled Tyler with her, and then they stood and watched as the girl stepped up to the locker Gina had been in front of. Then Gina noticed the guitar case on the floor, and she was usually very talkative. "Do you play guitar?"

The girl banged her fists against the locker in a funky way and it popped open, and then she placed her school bag in there. It was probably her new locker or something, which she seemed to have already lost the combination for. She then picked up her guitar and placed the rim over her shoulders, as she looked at Tyler and Gina before her.

"Sure, I play some. I was in two different bands in NYC. Elvis Aron Presley is my partner! We've been jamming together since I was 9." The girl explained to them, and they looked at her weirdly. The only 'Elvis Presley' they had ever heard of had been dead for over 60 years, and that made this girl seem very strange. The silence was uncomfortable, and the girl was quick to talk again and broke the silence by introducing herself; "I'm Analeigh by the way, Analeigh Swansea."

Tyler nodded his head, and then he pointed at Gina. "That's Gina Suaves, but we call her 'G'. I'm Tyler King, but I prefer Ty." He introduced himself, and Analeigh reached out her hand for them to shake. After they'd both shaken it, Tyler carried on talking. "Um, who's Elvis by the way? The only Elvis we know is kind of dead."

"Oh, I'm totally sorry. I should have known. Um, Elvis Aron Presley is my guitar." Analeigh said with a smile, and then she patted on the black case which contained the guitar. Gina's mouth formed an 'O' because she now understood, and Tyler mouthed an okay but didn't understand much. "Do you guys play anything?"

"I play the guitar as well, but mine is an electric guitar. Yours is an acoustic, right?" Gina questioned the new girl, who nodded her head yes. The latina carried on rambling then. "I also play a little bit of bass, because of the string and that. I like string instruments, but nothing beats the guitar. I also play a little bit of violin, cello and ukulele. It's weird, I know."

Analeigh shook her head instead of saying 'no, definitely not weird'. She liked musically gifted people, so whatever they'd play wasn't weird to her. It was anything but! It was talent, and talent was never something weird. It was a gift you should cherish and not be ashamed of, like her mother sometimes tried to let her be!

"I play the drums." Tyler nonchalantly stated, and then he waved his hand sort of to brush the topic off. He knew Gina whenever they talked about his drumming skills, so he quickly warned Analeigh about it. "Don't let her get you alone, Analeigh, she'll just tell you crap about how drumming is for musically challenged people."

"Oh, don't believe that. You hold the beat!" Analeigh said with a laugh and tucked a little at rim on her shoulder – it was getting heavy, and she seriously needed to hurry get her timetable so she could be on time for class on her first day. She had to get away from these new people, but not before explaining herself. "I'd love to talk more, but I'm kind of in a hurry today. It was nice meeting you, though."

She waved at them and hurried off down the hallway, but she wasn't quick enough before Gina yelled curiously after her; "Hey, Analeigh, why are you wearing sunglasses inside?"

"It's a long story." Analeigh yelled as a reply without looking back, and then she picked up pace before the latina got to yell something more. It wasn't that they weren't nice people she just didn't have time to be all chit chatty the first day of school. Her mother didn't need to be handfed reasons to dislike her even more, because she'd surely find them on her own.

Analeigh wasn't looking where she was going, as she dug her hand into the pocket on the side of her guitar case and pulled out some. They were her song books, and she often had them out as you could never know, when inspiration would strike the creative mind.

Just as she had pulled them out of the pocket, she bumped into someone and they flew out of her hand and slid across the floor. Had it been Davida bumping into someone she'd probably had snapped at the other person, but Analeigh wasn't like that – everything was her fault. She was raised with that.

She knelt down to the floor to gather her books, and then she looked up at the person she'd bumped into. It was a guy with very beautiful blue/grey eyes and dark chestnut hair, and he offered her and apologetic smile as if it was his fault. She smiled shyly, and then she looked down on the ground again pretending to be preoccupied with her books. Then he knelt down to the floor as well.

His eyes were burning on her and she couldn't keep staring at the floor, so she looked up at him and met his eyes. "I'm really sorry, that I bumped into you. I just… I should have looked where I went." She rambled out her apology as she counted her blessing, that no-one appeared to be in sight to witness this embarrassment. The guy was faster than Analeigh and picked up the books for her and handed them to her. "Thank you, but you didn't have to do that. It was my own fault for bumping into you!"

"We both weren't looking otherwise this wouldn't have happened at all. I have very good footwork." The guy explained with a price winning smile, and he was right. He extended his arm for Analeigh to take his hand, and when she did he pulled them both up from their kneeling position. "I'm co-captain on the basketball team, so it should be a given. I'm Joel, and you are?"

"Embarrassed!" Analeigh mumbled, but when Joel shot her a questioning look she tried to cover up with a smile. Why was she so embarrassed, when this guy seemed so nice and special in a way? At least she could introduce herself. "I um… I'm Analeigh. I'm new here, but you probably knew that. Who else would bump into the co-captain of the basketball team?"

Joel chuckled while thinking 'this girl is different somehow, and I like it', and it wasn't because of the sunglasses. He usually fell for a person because of their eyes, and he couldn't see Analeigh's eyes, so he wondered why he felt it was headed to liking her. He wanted to see her eyes though, so maybe?

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but why do you… I mean, what books are those?" He chickened out and asked a different question at the last minute, for it felt to him that if he asked the other thing it might offend her – and he definitely did not want that.

Analeigh sighed. "That's kind of personal." She explained to him and hoped her would take her word for it. It was personal and in a weird way she felt, she wanted to tell him and show him what it was – there was just something about him, but she couldn't. She had just met him. "No offense."

"Oh, none taken. Maybe you'll tell me some other time." Joel smiled and brushed it off, and how could it really have offended him? If it was personal, it was personal. So he changed the subject. "So why were you in such a hurry before?"

"Shit!" Analeigh exclaimed, and then she turned around and ran off without explaining herself to Joel. He, too, could just watch as she left. It was becoming quite the habit of her first day. Joel stuck to her mind though, and she did the same for him.

**xXx**

Free period had come around, and the cheerleading squad and basketball team were both in the gym practicing. Troy, their coach, had a quick meeting before he could be there, so the first 10 minutes for the basketball team would be sort of a warm up. Anyone who wasn't sweating once Troy got there hadn't done a good enough job.

Today that would be the coach's sons. Tim and Joel stood in the corner of gym by the doors to the changing rooms, which was in the end of the basketball team's side of the gym. If and when both the cheerleaders and the team had practice at the same time, they would always split the gym up like that.

It was entirely Joel's fault that neither of them were doing anything, as he was busy telling his younger brother about this girl he'd just met earlier. Normally Joel wasn't like that, but there was just something different about that girl – something that really intrigued him. He couldn't pinpoint it! It was just there, and he couldn't forget about her.

"I don't know how this happened? I mean, I barely talked to her and yet I can't forget about her." Joel explained to his little brother, as he folded and narrowed his eyes watching the team practicing for a few seconds, and then he focused back on Tim. "She bumped into me, and then her books flew everywhere. I did as I would normally do; I helped pick up her books, and normally that would be that. She just captivated me, and it's weird."

"Sounds to me like, you're crushing on the new girl." Tim told his brother in a wise 'know it all' kind of way, and then he patted his shoulder with a smile to match his tone. Joel shot him a look like he was suffering, and Tim couldn't hold back the chuckle. "What's her name anyways? If you know that is."

Joel pushed his little brother playfully for teasing him, and then they both turned serious again. "Her name was Analeigh, but I don't know her last name. Should I have asked her?" He wondered out loud more to himself than anyone else, and he figured he probably should have. It was too late now, but maybe if he met her again.

A silence washed over the two brothers, and Tim stared down at the wooden floor of the gym to avoid eye contact, so he wouldn't have to say anything. Not that he was shy about carrying on the conversation, but with his brother in wonderland it probably wasn't wise to say anything.

He noticed that his brother had… bare feet? Okay, so they weren't entirely bare; he did have on socks. That probably wasn't intentional or smart either, so Tim pushed his brother lightly on the arm, and when he got his attention he pointed down on the floor. Joel looked down upon his feet and noticed the mistake, and then he shut eyes – clearly thinking the word 'shit'.

Joel spun around and rushed into the changing room to put on his shoes, and now that he was gone Tim no longer had an excuse to not do anything. He turned towards his team and ran out to join them, grabbing a ball from one of his team mates. The ball hadn't been meant for him, but they weren't fast enough.

"Okay, now let me show y'all how it's done!" He shouted so everybody in the gym could hear him and see his amazing skills, but they all knew he was arrogant that way, so it didn't matter to them as they were all used to it. With the ball in his hand he made a jump shot, but it didn't make it into the basket. Hurt ego! "And also how it's not done. Never do that!"

In the cheerleading side of the gym Royal and Davida had arrived a little while ago, and Stephanie had welcomed them like they were long time friends. She even hugged Royal, who was very surprised by that. He was the 'gay' one, and nobody ever bothered touching him or even looking at him, unless it was because they wanted to tease him or something.

Stephanie turned to her squad. "Okay girls, listen up; this is Royal Evans – related to Ryan Evans, and he might be our new choreographer." She announced to the cheerleaders, and then she offered Royal a sweet smile to butter him up a little bit – make it easier for him to go for it. "The only thing is that he doesn't know what we're capable of, and we need to show him that, so he'll say yes and help us. We all know we need the help!"

Davida shrugged and figured she wasn't needed much there, so she walked over to the bleachers and sat down. She rested her elbow on her thigh and her chin in her hand, and then she just stared into space and sometimes around the gym, looking pretty much bored with the whole situation.

One of the cheerleaders stepped up to their captain, and then she folded her eyes and spoke what was on her mind. "I'm sorry Stephie, but I can't see how we need Gay Evans over there to help us. We're fine." The cheerleader said and sent Royal a demeaning look, which really upset him but he kept quiet about it.

"Well, then I hope you were very unhappy as cheerleader, because you're not anymore. Kari, you're off the squad!" Stephanie told the now ex-cheerleader with even as much as looking sad about it, and then she focused and talked to the rest of the squad again. "Gay or not, it's not alright to demean people like that, and if anybody else feel the same way they're welcome to leave right now with Kari."

She searched every person on the squad's eyes, but nobody showed any sign of feeling the same way. She smiled proudly at all of them, and then she turned and watched as Kari left the gym. Kari should have known her good enough to know that, that kind of statement would never be well received with Stephanie.

"Okay, now let's show him what we've got now!" Stephanie cheered and firing up the other cheerleaders, who stormed out to the captain. They all went into start position and waited to find out the routine they'd be doing for Royal, before they could begin at all. "Our champion routine from two years ago, if you guys remember."

Royal stepped over to the bleachers and sat down next to his cousin, and then he watched as the cheerleaders tried to do their thing. It was painful to watch honestly! It wasn't that they were terrible in anyway, for they all had pretty good skills! The problem was that they were all too stiff, and that had to be why it was going so bad for them.

He banged his hands together to get their attention, and they stopped in the middle of their routine. He stepped on to the court again and stopped in the middle of it all, and then he looked at them one by one and stopped by Stephanie. He smiled like he wanted to apologize on beforehand, and then he went with it.

"I am not gonna lie to you guys – it wasn't good. It was more like decent, but I know what the problem is." Royal started off by saying, and Stephanie stared at him in a 'what do you mean' kind of way, and so he elaborated. "You're all too stiff, and as a cheerleader you can't allow yourself to be. Now I don't know what it is that makes you so stiff, but I do know a workout that can cancel it out. I will also admit that your routine needs a lot more ambition and creativity, and I'll give that to you."

Stephanie waved the cheerleaders off to the bleachers, and then she stepped closer to Royal. "Tell me more, Royal, and be good at explaining yourself." She spoke only a few inches from his face, but he did not flinch. He was nervous about the closeness, though.

"I think I explained myself perfectly. You are all very stiff, and as a cheerleader not even when doing the robot can you be stiff. But I said I'll help you." Royal whispered and was surprised that he managed to get it out, because Stephanie seriously frightened him when she was standing that up close. She was a nice person, but she could be quite intimidating. "And as cheerleader you have to renew yourself all the time. When 'auditioning' for a new choreographer you certainly can't perform a routine from two years ago. That's just shooting yourselves in the legs."

Stephanie closed her eyes and hated to admit it, but Royal was totally right. "Fine, you might be right." She finally admitted with a sigh and opened her eyes, and then she stepped a little away from him so she wouldn't be that intimidating anymore. "Give me your ideas tomorrow."

Royal nodded his head, but before he could reply with words they were interrupted by noise from the other end of the gym, where they basketball team were practicing. Both Stephanie and Royal stared down there, and so did the entire cheerleading squad and Davida to see what was going on.

"Okay, now let me show y'all how it's done!" They heard Tim shout from down there, and then they watched as he tried a jump shot, where the ball failed to make it into the basket. Then they heard him trying to cover up. "And also how it's not done. Never do that!"

Davida who never missed a chance stood up, and then she made her way to the other end of the gym to create some drama with this self-centered person. Though next to her he wasn't that self-centered, but right now Davida was bored so if she could create trouble, she sure as hell would!

She stopped in front of Tim who for some reason faced her way, and then she folded her arms and shot him a killer look. He watched her with confused eyes, for he didn't know her at all and did not get why she was staring at him like that. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he was Tim Bolton and he could handle anything.

"Hey mister 'God's gift to humanity', here are some basketball tips from a girl who is much smarter than your peanut intelligence." Davida said with a raised and harsh tone in her voice, and then she unfolded her arms and gave Tim a two finger push. "You were too busy bragging you missed the basket, now maybe if you let some of the self-centered air out of your head, then maybe and just maybe you'd have made the shot. I mean how do you expect to make a jump shot, when the weight of your egotistical brain is holding you down. Now I don't know who you are, but you are not that good! In fact you suck."

Tim stared at her intensely with squinted eyes as he wondered; why did she look so familiar to him? It was a weird thing to think about, seeing as she had just offended him in front of the entire gym. That didn't bother him as much as it should have, and it bothered him more that he couldn't figure out why she looked familiar. Of course he was extremely mad that she had offended him like that, but those thoughts just stuck in his head.

He took in her appearance; she was kind of short with hazel/brown eyes and middle/dark blonde hair, which was long and curly. He hadn't seen her before, but he had heard of her somehow. Kind of short with blonde curly hair – it sounded like… it sounded like… He'd figured it out!

"Analeigh?" He asked himself quietly and narrowed his eyes at Davida, but she hadn't heard him and had turned around and begun to walk away. She was halfway through the cheerleaders' side of the gym and was nearly at the doors, when Tim called out after her. "You're Analeigh, aren't you?"

Davida had intended to just offend the self-centered basketball dude, and then walk away happy with the mess she had made, but this was so much better! There was a chance to make things bad for her sister and bring her in trouble, and usually when that happened Davida would grab it.

She turned around and sent Tim a mocking smile – just to make it all worse. "Sure, I am." She lied without blinking, and then she turned around again and proceeded towards the doors. Davida was a smart girl, and she knew that 'sure, I am' could be sarcastic, and she could just blame the basketball dude for 'not sensing her tone' if Analeigh ever found out.

Stephanie watched the whole thing, and then she held up a finger as if to say 'one sec' to her team and Royal, whom she was working out new routine ideas with. She ran up to Davida and stood in front of her, blocking her way. "You're not Analeigh, are you?" She questioned the slightly shorter girl, who shook her head at the question replying 'no'. Stephanie sighed, and then she continued; "I figured. Who are you then?"

"I'm her twin. My name is Davida Swansea." Davida revealed and reached out her hand for Stephanie to shake, and then she offered her a friendly smile as if to say 'just take it'. Stephanie stared at the hand reluctantly, but then she finally shook it and quickly let go. "I'm a nice girl really, but I like to stir things up. I'm kind of a favorite, so it's easy to give Analeigh the blame."

"And you think that's fair?" Stephanie wanted to know, and Davida simply shrugged. The cheerleader sighed again and closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then she carried on. "Look, I'm not gonna be one to judge you, because I don't really know you. I'm always up for new friends and you do seem okay nice, but try to back off from the trouble making a little bit."

"I can try, but I can't make any promises. Analeigh is my sister, and it's my job." Davida explained to Stephanie who was an only child, and then she nodded as if to say she understood. They waved at each other to say bye, and then Davida turned around to leave once more. She waved her arm up in the air as she opened the door and left. "Toodles!"

In the basketball end of the gym Joel had stepped out of the dressing room just in time to watch the whole scenery, and he was hurt by what he heard and saw. The girl he thought was different in a good way had just trashed his younger brother, and now he didn't know what to make of her. He was very disappointed that he had liked her.

Tim turned around and looked his brother right in the eyes. "Did you hear how 'your girl' talked to me?" Tim questioned with an outrageous look in his eyes, and Joel hated that he had to nod his head yes. He was definitely gonna grab her later and give her a piece of his mind, and that he thought while Tim carried on talking. "I'm sorry to say this Joel, but she's bad news. I guess now we know why she wore sunglasses; to hide her evil eyes!"

Troy entered the gym just then after the storm had blown over, and then he started practice with his team. That day Tim was more captain than Joel was, as he just dragged himself silently through practice. His mood would be ruined for the rest of the day – no doubt!

**xXx**

Tyler's phone was buzzing in his pocket, but he refused to pick it up as he hurried down the hallway. He knew who it would be, and he wasn't interested in hearing his father's voice anymore that day. His old man sickened him! He had promised Gina to meet by her locker when they were off, so that's where he was headed at the moment, and he knew if he wasted his time on his father he'd end up ditching Gina. She didn't deserve that twice on the same day.

He reached around the corner and as he did, Gina came into his sight. She stood patiently waiting by her locker, stuffing some books into it. She also stuffed some books into her bag – she needed those for homework. Tyler got a wonderful idea and sneaked up behind Gina, and then he just stood there. He knew, when Gina would turn around she get herself a shock!

Gina zipped up her bag and threw it over her shoulder, and then she turned around to keep an eye out for Tyler. She got a huge fright, when she turned around and there he was. "Holy beefsteak, what the hell are you doing?" Gina demanded to know, as she held a hand above her heart. She was easily frightened, and Tyler just smirked. She smacked him across the arm. "Never do that again! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Tyler merely shrugged, and then his phone began buzzing again. Gina watched him with question marks in her eyes, and then Tyler picked the phone out of his pocket. He looked at it deep in thought for a while, and then he looked up again and threw it, so it slid down the floor of the hallway. He had hoped it would have crashed into a wall or something and broken, but it was stopped by a foot on the way.

New girl, Analeigh, bent down and picked it up from the ground, and then she walked over to Gina and Tyler with a slight smile. "Are you gonna pick it up?" She questioned as she handed the phone back to Tyler, who reluctantly accepted it. He stared at the damn phone and wondered 'why wouldn't it just die'? Analeigh saw the look in his eyes and knew she had messed up somehow. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"It's not you!" Gina was quick to let her know, and then she leaned closer to Analeigh and whispered. "He's got issues with his nasty excuse of a father, who keeps calling him up for dirt on his mother. See, Mr. King wants custody."

Analeigh turned to Tyler with a sad but comforting smile, for she really felt for him with this issue. "I'm sorry to hear that, Ty. I know all about having a nasty parent, trust me. Just in my case it's a mom." She tilted her head a little to the side, watching Tyler intensely to see if her words had helped. He offered her a tiny smile, and then she dug a little deeper. "But is there any dirt to get seeing as he keeps trying?"

"That's the thing; there isn't. My mother is great, and he's the one with all the dirt." Tyler exclaimed furiously, finally speaking up. Both Analeigh and Gina were taken aback a bit by this outburst, but they were also both quick to cover it up. "He's also the reason my mother is rarely ever home, I'm sure of it! He'd beat my mother up every day, until she had finally had enough and filed for a divorce. Once it was all finalized and she was free of him, she dug herself into her work to avoid the pain."

This was uncomfortable. Analeigh tug on the rim to her guitar case, which was almost always over her shoulder. She wanted to avoid talking about this any further. Gina looked in pain as well. She hated the fact that she couldn't help her best friend feel better, for what he was going through really sucked. Gina had issues as well with her identity ever since her father died, but at least her father had been a nice guy – Tyler's father wasn't.

Analeigh looked at Gina with a quivering lip for bringing the whole subject up, but Gina brushed it away with a shake of her head. There really wasn't any need to apologize. "I should learn when to shut up." Analeigh said mostly to herself, but both Tyler and Gina smiled at her that she shouldn't worry about it. Tyler was already over the outburst on the surface.

"Yeah, you really should." Someone said behind them, and they all turned their heads to see who it was. It was Joel Bolton and he looked really mad with Analeigh for some weird reason. "I can't believe you, Analeigh! I thought you were different, but I guess I was wrong."

Analeigh shot him a confused look, which he couldn't see through her sunglasses. "What the… what are you talking about Joel?" She watched him through her sunglasses for a little bit, and he seemed quite upset with her for some reason, and she wondered why. "Why are you so upset?"

The question only seemed to upset Joel even more. "Stop acting so innocent, Analeigh." He yelled at her and startled her. She could consider herself lucky that, besides from Tyler and Gina, the hallway was empty, otherwise this scene could have been a lot more embarrassing for her. "I saw you, and I heard you. Why would you say such things to my brother?"

"Your brother?" Analeigh questioned him, and then she looked back at Gina and Tyler. Did he really have a brother? They both nodded slightly but not too much, as they didn't want to tick Joel even more off and somehow be dragged into it. Analeigh looked back at Joel, still confused. "I don't know what you're talking about? I didn't even know you have a brother, so how could I possibly have said something to him?"

"Stop acting like you don't know. You're frustrating me!" Joel's voice got louder by each word, and then he grabbed his hair and pulled it, while he groaned loudly. He let his arms fall to his side again, and he looked as mad as before. "You said he was arrogant, and that he had the intelligence of a peanut. Who says something like that to someone they don't even know?"

_Davida!_ Analeigh had figured it out now. She had to let Joel know that she was a twin. "I don't know, but has it ever occurred to you that…"

"Oh my God, Analeigh, stop talking. Every lying word drives me insane." Joel said while cutting Analeigh off. She felt as startled as Tyler and Gina looked from the sidelines, and they all wondered why Joel was that mad. The things he claimed, Analeigh had said weren't as bad as they seemed at how mad he was. "To think I liked you, and then you're just this nasty little girl, who wouldn't even politely remove her sunglasses the first time we met."

"How about overreacting just a little bit more? You have only just met me, and you don't even know me." Analeigh shrieked right into his face, and her voice had hit a volume she thought only her mom could hit, and she felt bad. "I liked you too, but do you see me overreacting? You accuse me of something I didn't do, and you don't believe me, when I say I didn't do it! But obviously you can't use that brain of yours invented for thinking to think that maybe and just maybe, it wasn't me who did it. Maybe it was someone who looked an awful lot like me? Ever think of that?" Joel looked confused, and so did Tyler and Gina on the sidelines. "Not that you would even care, but I didn't do it."

Then she turned around and stomped away loudly, feeling very angry. Joel made eye contact with Tyler and Gina for a little bit, and then he too turned around but walked away quietly, feeling quite ashamed of himself. Tyler and Gina were finally alone, and they were quiet for a bit, letting the thick tension in the air drift away.

"Do you think she did it, Ty?" Gina questioned and looked at her best friend, as soon as the tense air was gone. "I mean, Joel does have pretty solid case. Analeigh is new, and she has quite a distinguish look because of the sunglasses, so he can't really be mistaken. What do you think?"

"Yeah, the sunglasses could mean that she did do it." Tyler agreed, but he didn't believe that Analeigh had done, even though she did stand out. There was a good reason for why she couldn't have done it. "But on the other hand, G, if you just spin it and think it through; she has an acoustic guitar. She couldn't have done it."

"Yeah, but the sunglasses…"

"I know what types of girls wears sunglasses inside, but I also know the types who play acoustic guitar." Tyler cut Gina off and explained, and then he made eye contact with her to get his point across. "She didn't do it, trust me." He looked at his best friend, watching her nod as she accepted what he had said, and then he changed the subject. "Enough about that, G. We're both motherless tonight, so what are the plans? Where do we eat, and what do we eat?"

Gina looked thoughtful for a second. Neither of them knew how to cook that well, so they'd probably just order some take away. "Hmm, I feel like chinese or something." Like that she threw her proposal on the table, but then she watched her best friend wrinkle his nose and make a disgusted face, and she remembered he didn't like chinese. "Oh, that's right! You don't like chinese. How about mexican then?"

"That's sounds good to me, and there's actually a mexican place not so far from where I live." Tyler revealed after having thought it over a bit, and Gina mentally highfived herself for coming up with a genius substitute plan. Tyler realized what that meant, and he continued; "I guess that means we're eating at my place?"

His latina best friend nodded her head eagerly, and then she replied; "Sounds great, cos we ate at my place last time." Gina offered her friend a little smile, as she got the greatest idea she had ever hatched, if she said so herself. "No, actually, it's perfect! Let's jam tonight. I can bring my guitar, it'll be awesome."

Tyler and Gina sometimes jammed together, and they usually did at Tyler's place. Gina could easily bring one of her guitars with her to Tyler's place, but Tyler couldn't that easily bring Sally with him to Gina's place. And they played quite well together, so why not do something together they both had a passion for? It might actually cheer Tyler up a little bit, and then hopefully he'd forget about his stupid father!

"Sure," Tyler gave in with a smile and wrapped an arm around his best friend and gave a little squeeze. "let's jam tonight. You just have to help me drag Sally down to the basement, but it's a deal."

Gina smiled at her friend's response, and then she began to wonder about which guitar she should bring. She had about 5 different electric guitars, but then she figured it was Red's turn to be played.

In another end of the school Analeigh had gotten pretty far, cos whenever she got mad she got fast. She was trying to hunt down her sister to give her a piece of her mind, but so far she hadn't stumbled upon her, which probably was lucky enough for sister as she was furious.

She just didn't get it. She told herself she knew her own sister, but sometimes she just couldn't figure her out. Sometimes Davida was sneaky clever, sucking up to their mother while making Analeigh look bad. Sometimes she was nice to Analeigh, if their mother got to her too much or whenever somebody else hurt her. Sometimes she was mean to people, and sometimes she went out of her way to mess with Analeigh or put her in a bad light. She had all these different personalities, and Analeigh couldn't figure out which one was the real Davida.

Analeigh finally caught up with Davida by her locker. Davida was putting some things into it, and then she was startled by Davida who slammed the locker door shut with one hand. Davida knew right away that Analeigh knew by her body language.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, Davy?" Analeigh demanded to know as she removed her sunglasses and glared furiously at her sister, who unwilling flinched at the sight of her eyes, though she had had many years to get used to it. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Davida decided to lie, and then she threw her bag over her shoulder and tried looking innocently at her sister. "It's our first day here, Leigh, so do you really think I'd pull something already?"

"Yeah?" Analeigh looked questionably at her sister, while she did a headshake that clearly said 'of course you would'. Davida smirked and that was her confession, they never needed that many words when Davida had pulled something. "I know you're sorta schizophrenic with your multiple personalities and all that, but it's pretty low even for you to pull something on our very first day here. What did you get out of making me look bad?"

Davida shrugged without even looking bothered, she knew how to provoke people even when she'd just met them. "I don't know. I thought it was fun." She explained not once changing her expression, and then she began walking down the hallway and Analeigh followed. "At first it was just the fun of offending this guy, Tim, but then he seemed to know about you, and I thought it would be even more fun to let you take the blame."

Analeigh stopped, but Davida kept walking. "You know what the worst is about this?" Analeigh called out to Davida, who turned around and stared at her younger twin. Analeigh seemed so vulnerable right then and there, she often did. "If mom ever found out, she wouldn't even care about what you've done. She would find a way to make it my fault."

Davida just stood there feeling a little bad now, as Analeigh sped up and brushed past her sister with her sunglasses in her hand. Davida turned around and watched her sister leave. She felt bad about her sister feeling bad, but she didn't feel bad about what she had done, and she knew they wouldn't be okay for a while.

Analeigh dug into her pocket and fished out her cellphone, and then she dialled a number she wished she didn't remember. She kept pacing down the hallways of the school, while she listened to her phone beep as she waited for it to be picked up. When it finally did she had to fight to contain her anger.

_"This is Sharpay Swansea speaking."_

"I just want you to know that something happened today at school between me and Davida, and because you're such a lousy mother I won't be coming home today, but you probably don't even care!" Analeigh said with a raised voice and cut right to the chase, and she was so mad she didn't even care if her mother got mad, and before her mother even got a chance to say something to her daughter's statement, Analeigh was ready to hang up the phone. "Goodbye, mother."

She reached around a corner and saw that Tyler and Gina hadn't gotten much further, but they had finally started moving forward. She put on her sunglasses and her cell back in her pocket, and then she sped up and soon caught up with them.

"You're really fast with a guitar on your back." Gina acknowledged, being a fellow guitarist and all. Maybe she was just stunned, because an electric was heavier than an acoustic.

"Yeah, well... I have sorted out the missunderstanding, the only problem now is that I can't go home." Analeigh revealed to them, but they said nothing as they didn't understand. She sighed; they had the potential to be new friends, so she had to be honest with them. "I have a twin, and she was the one who said those things to Joel's brother. She likes putting me in a bad light, and whenever she does something I get in trouble, even when I haven't done anything - especially at home. You see, my mother loves Davida, but she hates me because..." Analeigh paused and removed her sunglasses, so Tyler and Gina could see her eyes, and then she continued; "Because of these mainly. So Davida screwed up, and I can't go home."

"Hmm, you could stay with me." Tyler offered nervously, and then he glared at his best friend. He looked back at Analeigh and tried to smile without seeming affected, and it worked. "My mom is not home, though. She is chief of medicin and is having one of her many shifts at the hospital. G's mother is working, too, so we're having dinner together and later we're jamming, but you're welcome to join us with Elvis."

Analeigh smiled appreciatively at them, especially because they hadn't walked off or teased her about her eyes yet, even if she knew they had to gross them out. "That's great thanks, what are we having?"

"We uhm... we were thinking about mexican." Gina stuttered to get out. She was in shock, cos she had expected the very worst about Analeigh. She had expected her be wearing sunglasses all the time because of some diva attitude, but not because of what really turned out to be the case. "Yeah, mexican. Tyler is so weird, he doesn't even like chinese."

"Take away?" Analeigh questioned, and Gina quickly nodded and mouthed 'we can't cook'. Analeigh smiled - she was a great cook for someone her age, and sure they could bond a little if she cooked. "Screw that, I'll cook for you. I'm a great cook. I always cook at home, I even wonder a little bit how they'll get something to eat tonight."

Tyler and Gina were quick to agree to Analeigh's propersition, and then the three of them left the school together, and it was officially the end of the first day of school for Davida and Analeigh Swansea.

**xXx**

_**Disclaimer; **__Don't own anything related to High School Musical, but I created their 'kids'._

_Hope you enjoy this chapter . I know last chapter didn't get any reviews, but that doesn't matter . I'm mostly writing this for me, but I would still appreciate reviews ;). I hope you liked this, please review ;) ._

_**Laters,**_

_AK-tutti_


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